Steinbeck
by fabulousreaper
Summary: When Ludwig agreed to help take care of his brother's friends' child, he didn't expect this. Feliciano, a young blind man, is trusted in Ludwig's care. At first he thinks what the hell has he gotten himself into? But as time goes on, his mind begins to change. Can a blind person really teach someone how to see the world in a new light? Or will it all come crashing down around them?
1. Prologue

_What about now?  
What about today?  
What if you're making me all that I was meant to be?  
What if our love never went away?  
What if it's lost behind words we could never find?  
Baby, before it's too late,  
What about now?_

_-"What about now" by Chris Daughtry _

* * *

"How can you stand to live like this, Feliciano?" Ludwig said to the boy in front of him, with a pained edge to his voice. "You have the opportunity of a life time, and you're just going to throw it away? Why are you doing this to us? Why do you _choose _to be blind?"

Feliciano raised his head up to Ludwig, grey pupils hidden under heavily lidded eyes.

"You know, I find myself asking people like you the same thing." Feliciano said, a sad smile gracing his lips.

Ludwig gave Feliciano a confused and pained expression, not that the other man would be able to see it. "What do you mean, 'people like me'?"

Feliciano sighed and turned away from Ludwig, pressing his hand against the coolness of the window. "People who are able to see the world, yet choose to be blind to its truths."


	2. Railings

_Everyone is entitled to their own sorrow, for the heart has no metrics or form of measure. And all of it… irreplaceable_

_-RWBY White Trailer_

* * *

Ludwig was a simple man. That is, if you called an OCD obsession with cleanliness simple. Of course, the Germans were known to be very clean. However, that stereotype seemed to fall out of balance with his older brother, Gilbert. Ludwig always found himself cleaning up after his brother after a heavy night of drinking, which was almost every night. Sometimes Gilbert would tease him about it, saying that he should aspire to becoming a German maid rather than an engineer. Ludwig would always yell at him, saying that he would never do something that girly. Perhaps that's why he found his situation rather ironic. You see, while Gilbert was indeed drunken dummkopf, he had friends all over Europe. Even one in Canada, but that was just a pen pal so Ludwig didn't really count that one. Two of Gilbert's friends happened to be a wealthy couple that lived in Austria. The couple had been looking for someone to help look after their son for a little while, and Gilbert thought that Ludwig was perfect for the job. Ludwig was furious when he found out that his brother had volunteered him for the job, but took it anyways. They needed the extra money, plus some time away from Gilbert would probably do him some good. The couple was paying for his train ticket, so he was riding first class. Ludwig didn't want to impose on them, but the lady on the phone insisted. He assumed that the woman he had been talking to was the wife, but was never able to get her name. The couple owned some land in a small town in the Austrian countryside. This small town had a small train station, which was very convenient. The reason the couple lived near this town was because they didn't want to deal with living in a bustling city, and the husband could take the train into Vienna when he needed to conduct business. Ludwig knew next to nothing about the couple, until Gilbert was 'kind' enough to shed some light on them. Apparently the husband owned an international music company which was based in Vienna. He had come from a rich family and when he wasn't working he composed music as a hobby. The wife mostly cooked and cleaned, but she also had a love for nature. This love for nature was expressed through hunting, gardening, and hiking trips. Their son, whose age was not disclosed to Ludwig, liked to help his mother cook and he was quite the painter. This wasn't much, but at least Ludwig knew their interests. He would learn more about them as he worked for him.

It was an early August morning in which Ludwig had to leave his home of Berlin and set out for Vienna. His train would leave at 7 o'clock, so he got up at 4 'clock just to be safe. When he woke up he smiled to see his dog Steinbeck sleeping peacefully at his feet. Steinbeck was a 5 year old German Shepard that Ludwig had adopted as a puppy. Ludwig had originally been looking for a good guard dog but when he laid eyes on Steinbeck for the first time, and he would admit this to no one except for maybe his brother, he had fallen in love. He was actually a little excited about this trip seeing how he would be able to bring Steinbeck with him. He named the dog after John Steinbeck, the American author. He had read one of Steinbeck's works while his family had gone on vacation in America, and he had taken a liking to the man's writing style. The family was ecstatic when they found out that he had a dog and begged him to bring Steinbeck with him. Well...it was mainly the wife who was excited. Ludwig had only talked to her on the phone. She sounded like a very kind woman.

He smiled at his dog for a moment before getting out of his bed, taking extra caution as to not wake up Steinbeck. Steinbeck would wake up on his own and greet Ludwig when he got out of the shower. Ludwig had already packed so all that was left was to do was to get something in his stomach and walk to the train station. He started walking down the stairs when he saw that the light in the kitchen was on. That was weird...Ludwig was always the first one up. At first he thought that someone had broken in, but Steinbeck didn't appear to be distressed. In fact Steinbeck merrily made his way past Ludwig into the kitchen, letting out a happy bark at whoever was in there. At first Ludwig was confused until he heard the voice of his brother. Oh...his brother must have come home from a night out. But to Ludwig's surprise when he walked into the kitchen he saw that his brother wasn't the least bit drunk. In fact, it looked like he hadn't gone out at all that night, which was odd for Gilbert.

At first glance you wouldn't think that Ludwig and Gilbert were brothers. While Ludwig had blond hair, icy blue eyes, and a rather "neat" demeanor about him Gilbert was albino, with white hair and red eyes, and was rather apathetic towards things like sponges. But if you looked closely at them you'd see similar characteristics in their faces and bodies. There was no doubt that Ludwig would have to about Gilbert while he was away. He wasn't sure how long he would stay in Austria, but he knew it would be long enough for Gilbert to burn the house down. As soon as Ludwig walked into the kitchen Gilbert stood up from where he had been petting Steinbeck and him Ludwig as he always did, by putting him in a headlock and ruffling his hair.

"Who's happy to see their AWESOME big bruder?"

Ludwig cringed and pried his brother off of him, taking a few steps back while fixing his hair.

"Bruder, I _really _wish you wouldn't do that." Ludwig said, slightly irritated.

Gilbert merely let out his howling laugh.

"It surprises me that after all these years you still haven't adapted to ME! THE GREAT AND AWESOME GILBERT BEILSCHMIDT!" Gilbert said, striking a ridiculous pose.

Ludwig stared at him for a few moments before walking past Gilbert into the kitchen, steadfast as ever. "Ja, why don't you tell that to your boyfriend or whatever."

Gilbert blushed before his mouth formed into a pout. "Oi! He's not my boyfriend!" Then Gilbert's pout turned into a sly smirk. "At least, not _yet. _The Canadian bacon has yet to feats on my 5 meter sausage!"

Ludwig cringed at the bad metaphor, but quickly returned to normal as he started to make coffee.

"Oh wow, someone who hasn't experienced your 5 meters? What a shocker!" Ludwig said sarcastically.

Then suddenly something occurred to Ludwig. As he had seen before, Gilbert hadn't spent the night drinking. So why was his brother up at this hour? He heard a thump behind him, and with a glance he saw that his brother had taken a seat at the table with his feet on the table top. Ludwig would have scolded Gilbert himself, but Steinbeck beat him to the punch. Steinbeck gave Gilbert a small bark and nudged at his feet. Gilbert grumbled as his feet hit the floor, Ludwig smiling proudly at his dog.

"So, bruder..." Ludwig started as he poured coffee into two mugs. "...why are you up this early, or late?"

Gilbert let out another laugh as Ludwig placed the mug of coffee in front of him.

"I figured that I should see my baby bruder off before he goes to live with Mr. Tightass and Mrs. Fryingpan to help 'em with their crib-midget!"

Ludwig sighed at his brother as he sat down across the table with his own mug of coffee. For a while they sat in silence, the only noise being Steinbeck's tail thumping on the floor. There was a question on their minds, along with an answer. Ludwig heard Gilbert set his mug heavily on the table, a rare hint of seriousness in his eyes.

"Did you visit his grave yet?" Gilbert asked quietly.

Ludwig bit the inside of his cheek and looked down at his black coffee. He gazed at his reflection in the dark liquid, he seemed to be glaring at himself. About a year ago their grandfather had died from cancer. They were never told what kind of cancer, their grandfather didn't want them to know. Ludwig figured that it was because their grandfather didn't want to see him in pain. Their grandfather had refused treatment, claiming that he had lived long enough and that he didn't want to be pitied all the time. When he died he left Gilbert and Ludwig everything. However, before he died, their grandfather gave Ludwig some of his most prized possessions. They were his diary and an old photo. The photo was of his grandfather and an Italian man in the trenches during WWII. The Italian soldier had messy dark hair and a strong, tan arms arm wrapped around his grandfather, a goofy smile gracing his lips. His grandfather looked a little irritated, but if you looked closely you could tell that he was smiling.

* * *

_"Roma..."_

_Ludwig looked up from the photograph to his grandfather in bed. _

_"Was?" Ludwig said, confused by what his grandfather had said. _

_His grandfather smiled, which was something he rarely did. "Roma Vargas, he was my bunk mate back during the war. the idiot would always run carelessly into battle, with me not too far behind yelling at him. He always came out unscathed though, you have no idea how grateful I was for that. _

_By the way Ludwig's grandfather's eyes lit up, Ludwig could tell that this 'Roma Vargas' person had been much more than a bunk mate. His grandfather could tell by the way that Ludwig was looking at him that he had questions, so he continued. _

_"Did I forget to mention that the bastard would flirt with every damn female nurse he came across? Hehe, he sure was Italian. You know, they say that in heaven your lover would be Italian. I don't doubt that for one second..." _

_It was then that his grandfather looked Ludwig in the eye with all seriousness. _

_"Let me give you some advice, Ludwig." The light in his eyes seemed to have shifted to something that might be akin to a deep sadness. "Never fall for an Italian, but if you do don't you __ or _him, _go."_

_It was then that Ludwig's eyes widened with shock and understanding. Even though they never said it out loud, Ludwig knew who Roma Vargas had been. _

* * *

Ludwig nodded, not taking his eyes off of his murky reflection. "Ja, I gave him a visit yesterday afternoon."

Gilbert nodded, also looking down at his coffee mug. Silence fell over them again until Gilbert broke it, just as he had done before.

"You know...he gave you that diary for a reason. I mean, the guy did _raise _us so I guess he wanted us to know more about his past seeing how he wasn't able to tell us himself."

Gilbert was probably right, he was just being silly. Its just that Ludwig didn't have the courage to read something so private. He did want to know more about his grandfather, but at the same time he felt like it wasn't his business. Sure Gilbert could just read the diary himself, but he felt that Ludwig should read it first. He wasn't sure why he felt that way, either it was because Ludwig had less time with their grandfather or because Ludwig was the spitting image of him. Steinbeck sensed the tenseness in the air and let out a small whine as he nudged Ludwig's leg. Ludwig looked down at his dog and smiled, giving him a quick scratch behind the ears.

"We have to leave soon." Ludwig said, acting like everything was normal.

Gilbert smiled and stood up from his seat. "Don't worry about calling a cab baby bruder, 'cause I'll be driving you to victory!"

A look of horror washed over Ludwig's facing, causing Gilbert to laugh.

"Don't worry West, I promise that I'll drive like the damn turtle!"

Ludwig narrowed his eyes at his brother, as if he was studying him. Eins, stop calling me 'West'. Zwei, the last time you drove that car it took me over a month to fix it." Ludwig said, cringing as he remembered all the new parts he had to buy.

Gilbert let out a 'pfff' sound and pouted, deep in thought for a moment before a victorious look grew on his face.

"Fine, since you think that the AWESOME me can't keep my word, I'll do this." Gilbert raised his right hand into the air, as if taking an oath. "I, the GREAT and AWESOME GILBERT BEILSCHMIDT, swear on my FIVE METERS, that I won't completely destroy baby bruder's precious little automobile."

Ludwig peered at Gilbert, who was till standing proudly. Ludwig knew that this was a bad idea, he could feel it in his bones. But there was that part of him saying that he should just go along with it. After all, he probably wouldn't see his brother for a few months, maybe even a year! He should probably cherish what time he had left with his brother. Ever since their grandfather died the only family they had left was each other. So, after contemplating it, Ludwig finally let out a sigh of defeat.

"Fine, you can drive me to the damn train station. But when I get back there better not be one scratch on that car!"

Gilbert let out a loud whoop of victory, making Ludwig rub his temples in order to prevent himself from getting a headache.

"Alright! Can I get a _was, was?_"

Ludwig grumbled, still rubbing his temples. "Ja, sure, _was, was._"

Gilbert then proceeded to laugh and run upstairs, probably into Ludwig's room to grab the car keys. And despite the headache he had, Ludwig found himself smiling. Despite being an annoying arschloch, he was going to miss his brother.

* * *

The entire drive to the train station Gilbert kept going on about how his baby bruder was growing up while Ludwig looked out the window, ignoring him. Ludwig watched the buildings go by closely, knowing that it would be a long time before he ever saw them again. Steinbeck was sitting in the backseat, happily sticking his head out the window as his tail hit the front and back seats. Ludwig figured that Steinbeck would really like where they were going, seeing how he would have enough space to run. Their house had a big enough yard to satisfy Steinbeck, but Ludwig knew that his dog wanted to be able to roam freely. Ludwig would take Steinbeck with him jogging, but at those times his dog had to be on a leash.

It didn't take them long to get to the train station. By then it was still pretty early and not as crowded it usually was. At first Ludwig thought that Gilbert thought that Gilbert was just going to drop him off, but instead Gilbert found a parking space and hopped out of the car.

"Come on West, we don't have all day!" Gilbert said, banging his hand against Ludwig's window.

Ludwig waved his hand at Gilbert, as if shooing away a rather _loud _and _annoying _fly, and got out of the car.

He opened the back door for Steinbeck and attached the leash to his collar before he could run off. Other than driving him to the train station, Ludwig knew that his brother wouldn't be of any other help. He handed the other end of the leash to Gilbert, giving him a 'let go and I kill you' look. Gilbert rolled his eyes at Ludwig as his baby bruder got his luggage out of the trunk. Ludwig didn't own many things, except maybe his clothes and gun (which, unfortunately, he wasn't able to bring) so he only had one medium sized suitcase which he could carry with ease. They quickly made their way into the train station and Ludwig got his ticket. Seeing how the family was paying for the train, he was riding first class. He would have to thank them for their kindness when he arrived. Despite riding first class Steinbeck would still have to be put in a cage and ride in the cargo area. Ludwig hated the very idea of it, but it wouldn't take them that long to get to Austria and Steinbeck was a very tough dog. Gilbert said goodbye to Steinbeck before they carted him away and the dog gave him a bark. Before Ludwig left to locate his train Gilbert gave him a tight hug, warning him not to become more awesome than he was (not that it would ever happen). Ludwig gave him an awkward hug back, but soon pulled away because of all of the stares. As Ludwig walked away he heard his brother yell

"And try to get laid for once! I swear to gott that you're wound up tighter than a grandfather clock!"

If this were any other time Ludwig would have cringed and yelled at his brother for being so inappropriate. But for some reason Ludwig found himself laughing. Yeah, he really was going to miss his bastard of a brother.

* * *

By the time the train pulled into his destination it was almost noon. The train ride was fairly comfortable, but Ludwig had expected that. When he heard that his stop was coming up he quickly retrieved his luggage and Steinbeck. When Ludwig stepped off of the train he noticed that it was a little warmer than it had been in Berlin. There were a few people getting off, but he noticed that most were getting on the train. By the time the train pulled out there was barely anyone at the station. However there was one woman that stood out from everyone else. She had long sandy brown hair covered by a sun bonnet. Her dress had short ruffled sleeves and a skirt that went down to her knees made of a forest green fabric, buttons going up the front of her chest. Her stockings were slightly darker than her skin and she wore black ballet flats on her feet. In her hands she had a small brown leather purse, big enough to hold a wallet, keys, and maybe some makeup. She was staring right at Ludwig with big green eyes, looking as if she was in deep thought. They stared at each other for a few moments before she walked up to him, still studying his face.

"You wouldn't happen to be Ludwig Beilschmidt, would you?"

From what he could tell this woman was Hungarian, judging by her accent. She also sounded very familiar, with a kind and gentle voice. slowly, Ludwig nodded. A smile grew on Ludwig's face, her eyes lighting up with delight.

"Oh that's wonderful! I was a little worried that I was going to walk up to a complete stranger but you look so much like your brother that I knew it was you!"

She reached out to shake his hand, so Ludwig put his suitcase down and shook her hand firmly.

"Ja, my brother is Gilbert. I'm Ludwig, as you already know, and you are...?"

The woman stopped shaking his hand in favor of slapping her forehead.

"Oh silly me, we were never properly acquainted over the phone, were we?" She smiled warmly and gestured to herself. "I am Elizabeta Héderváry-Edelstein, an old friend of Gilbert's. I'm sure that Gilbert has talked about me, _igen?_"

Ludwig thought for a moment before shrugging. "I think I remember my bruder talking about a girl that would always beat him up as a kid."

Elizabeta laughed, delighted. "Oh yes, that was me! I may not look it, but I was quite the fighter back in the day. Of course I had to give that up when I married Roderich, but I still go hunting with old friends once in a while."

Unsure of what to do, Ludwig nodded again. "Ja, that sounds nice. Um, not trying to be rude or anything, but how are we going to...?"

Elizabeta stared at him for a few moments before her eyes widened in understanding.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. It't just that when I start talking about old memories it's hard for me to stop."

Elizabeta looked down at Steinbeck and smiled, kneeling down to give him a quick scratch.

"This is your dog, igen?"

Again, Ludwig nodded. "Ja, this is Steinbeck."

Elizabeta's smile grew as she began to rub the side of Steinbeck's neck affectionately. "Steinbeck...that's a good name for a German Shepard. Very tough sounding." Elizabeta stopped petting Steinbeck and stood up, not taking her eyes off of the dog. "It took a while to convince my husband to let you bring your dog. But I reassured him that you will clean up any mess he makes."

Elizabeta looked up at Ludwig, a little worried. "That's OK, right?"

Ludwig nodded. "Ja, that's alright. I sort of expected that and I'm used to to doing it. Plus Steinbeck is a very well behaved dog so you shouldn't have any trouble with him."

Elizabeta smiled at him and nodded. "That's wonderful! Oh, you must be hungry! Come along, I'm driving us to the house. I'll show you around a bit after lunch"

Elizabeta turned and began walking away, waving at Ludwig to follow her. Ludwig looked down at Steinbeck for a moment and they made eye contact. This would take a little while to getting used to. Ludwig picked up his suitcase and hurried after Elizabeta. She was right, he was hungry.

* * *

The drive to the house lasted about half an hour, and Elizabeta talked the whole time. Not that Ludwig minded, this way he was able to learn about Elizabeta, her husband Roderich, and their son. Roderich was currently in Vienna on business so Ludwig would have to wait to meet him. Through out the country they were known as the Héderváry-Edelstein family. Roderich had allowed Elizabeta to keep her maiden name, but most of Roderich's business partners called her Mrs. Edelstein. She didn't mind that much, in fact she understood. Despite being a wealthy family they didn't have many servants. Their house wasn't big like a mansion, so they thought that it was unnecessary to have a bunch of maids and butlers running around doing what Elizabeta and Roderich could do on their own.

"I was actually born to a poor family." Elizabeta had said while she was driving. "I had to clean the houses of wealthier families so that my family could get by. It wasn't that bad, in fact that's how I met my husband Roderich."

Elizabeta had continued on with her story. When she was old enough she left Hungary in search of work in other places and was hired by the Edelstein family, Roderich's parents. At first Roderich had been cold and distant towards Elizabeta, but eventually she was able to get him out of his shell.

"He was very misunderstood you know..." Elizabeta had said with a small frown. "...he only acted the way he did because it was expected of him. He was the heir to the Edelstein's fortune and business. Even at a young age his parents expected him to take on so much responsibility." A small smile grew on Elizabeta's lips. "Although...I guess it wasn't that bad. Roderich and I became good friends because of it. His parents also took a liking to me as well. I remember how Roderich would ask his parents if he could take me to some of their parties and Roderich's mother would be very happy. I guess it was because she finally had a girl she could dress up in fancy gowns and teach manners to, and believe me she did." Elizabeta giggled a little. "You should have seen her when we went shopping for mine and Roderich's wedding. She was always throwing the most extravagant wedding dresses at me, wanting me to try them all on. I'll have to show you the dress she got me sometime, it's very beautiful."

It was around this time that they passed a white fence which marked the property. Ludwig noticed that the farther into the property they went, the shorter the grass was. Like at the fence it was really long, but it would slowly descend in length. Ludwig found it odd, but didn't ask about it. Soon enough they pulled up to a large house with a garden in front of it. The garden had one section of flowers with a small wooden fence around it and the other section had an assortment of vegetables surrounded by a black wiry fence. Another thing that Ludwig found odd but again didn't ask. The house looked old but well kept. Elizabeta pulled right to the front of the house, turning the engine off and slumping back in her seat.

"Well, here we are!" Elizabeta said, letting out an almost happy huff.

In the back Steinbeck let out a bark, eager to get out of the car. Elizabeta smiled and turned to Steinbeck, patting his back.

"Don't worry doggy, you'll be out and about soon." Elizabeta opened her car door, sliding out. "You can have him run around for a bit if you like. I could have one of the stable boys watch him."

Ludwig got out of the car and turned to Elizabeta, looking at her from over the hood of the car. "Ja, that would be great! Thank you Mrs...um..."

Elizabeta giggled at him, putting the car keys in her purse. "Please, call me Elizabeta. However if you're not comfortable with that yet you can call me Mrs. Edelstein. But I look forward to the day when you can call me by my first name!"

Ludwig's eyebrows raised, a little shocked by Elizabeta's attitude towards him. Not that he was complaining, it was nice to have someone so kind to be his boss.

"Well, danke Mrs. Edelstein. Steinbeck and I appreciate it the thought greatly."

Elizabeta smiled and waved her hand at him. "Don't mention it." She then turned towards the right side of the house, cupping one hand near her mouth. "Toris, I'm home! Could you come here please? I need you to do something!"

A few seconds after Elizabeta called, a man with longish brown hair and green eyes came running from the side of the house. He was dressed in jeans, a rough button up shirt with an unbuttoned vest covering part of it, and mud splattered rain boots. If Ludwig was to guess he was probably no older than 21, around Ludwig's age. He ran up to them until he was about 2 feet away from Elizabeta.

"Yes, lady Elizabeta, what can I do for you?"

This man, Toris, sounded like he was from Lithuania.

"I need you to watch Mr. Beilschmidt's dog, Steinbeck, for a little while. The poor boy has been cooped up almost all day so I think he deserves to burn off some of that energy."

Toris nodded and gave Elizabeta a small bow. "Of course, lady Elizabeta. Is it OK if I let Feliks know that I'll have to finish cleaning the stables later?"

Elizabeta nodded. "Go ahead Toris, just don't take too long."

Toris gave Elizabeta another bow before turning and running back around the house, out of sight. Elizabeta then turned to Ludwig, her hands folded at her front holding her purse.

"That was Toris Laurinatis, one of our stable boys. He came here from Lithuania looking for work after the USSR collapsed. He's a very good worker but he's a little shy. However once he warms up to you he'll tell you everything. He kind of reminds me of my husband." Elizabeta said, giggling.

Ludwig nodded, moving to the back of the car and popping open the trunk. He was about to reach out and grab his suitcase when suddenly Elizabeta was at his side. She grabbed the handle of the suitcase and heaved it out of the trunk with ease, much to Ludwig's surprise. When Ludwig looked over at Elizabeta, shock evident on his face, she just smiled at him.

"Oh don't worry yourself. I just think it would be rather rude of me to have you carry your own things into my home. You are a guest, after all."

Ludwig was even more surprised by this. Technically he was her employee, not her guest. Toris came running back into view, stopping at the car. He had been mumbling something to himself, probably in Lithuanian, but stopped when he was in Elizabeta's presence.

"I told Feliks that I would finish cleaning the stables later. So...I can take care of the dog now." Toris said, sounding as if he was out of breath.

Elizabeta nodded and patted Toris' shoulder. "Thank you very much, Toris. I appreciate it greatly." she then directed her gaze towards Ludwig. "You can let Steinbeck out of the car now, Mr. Beilschmidt."

Ludwig nodded and walked to the back door of the car, opening it with ease. Steinbeck quickly jumped out of the car and sat on the ground, waiting for Ludwig to put his leash on. Ludwig smiled at Steinbeck and knelt down, resting his hand on what would have been Steinbeck's shoulder.

"You don't need to worry about the leash." Ludwig said soothingly. "You'll be able to run around with Mr. Toris out here."

Ludwig then pointed to Toris, Steinbeck's gaze following in suit. Steinbeck stared at Toris for a little while before trotting over to him, a curious look in his eyes. Toris jumped a little, but held his hand out to Steinbeck. Steinbeck leaned forward and sniffed Toris' hand before licking it. This made Toris squeal and pull his hand back, making Steinbeck let out a small whine. Ludwig couldn't help but laugh a little at Toris, but also took pity on him.

"Don't worry," Ludwig said to Toris. "...that just means he likes you."

Toris nodded slowly, wiping his hand on his vest. "Oh, um...OK. Does that mean he'll come when I call?"

Ludwig nodded. "Ja, just call his name. He's very well behaved but I know he'll want to explore a little. If you have any trouble just come and get me."

Toris nodded again, looking down at Steinbeck once more and began walking towards the field, with Steinbeck running in front of him. Ludwig gazed at Toris and his dog for a moment before he heard Elizabeta walking up the front steps. He turned in the direction of the sound and noticed something he hadn't seen before. The front steps weren't really steps. Half of them were regular steps and the other half was a ramp. Ludwig wasn't sure why it was like that, but guessed that it had something to do with Mr. Edelstein's parents. Ludwig quickly followed Elizabeta as she opened the door. When Ludwig stepped into the house he was amazed. While it was indeed very old there was a sense of beauty to it. The floor was wooden and polished and from what Ludwig could see every room was recently painted. There was a lot of blues and purples in the decoration along with a little bit of yellow here and there. There was a bouquet of flowers on almost every wood polished table, giving it a very homey feel to it. The house also smelled very nice, probably due to all the flowers. There was another thing that stuck out to Ludwig. All along the walls were these railings. Each different railing was made of a different kind of wood. Also while the furniture was clean it looked like they hadn't been moved in ages. Elizabeta removed her sun bonnet and hung it up on a coat hanger next to the door. She set Ludwig's suitcase near the coat hanger, in the corner.

"Just let me call my son down and we can start lunch." Elizabeta walked over to the bottom of the stairs, leaving a little space for someone to stand in front of her. "Feliciano, I'm home!"

Ludwig heard some thudding upstairs before a boy appeared at the top of the stairs. The boy had reddish brown hair with a curl spiraling out. He was wearing worn pants and a blue smock splattered with paint. Ludwig couldn't tell his eye color because the boy's eyes were heavily lidded, almost completely shut. Elizabeta smiled at him, despite knowing that the boy wouldn't be able to see it.

"Hello Feli, I'm here with Mr. Beilschmidt."

The boy smiled and bounded down the stairs. Elizabeta was relaxed, but Ludwig was tense with fear that the boy was going to fall.

"Mama!" The boy said as he flung himself into Elizabeta's arms, giving her a big hug.

Elizabeta laughed and returned the hug with gusto. "I missed you so much Feli!" she said with much joy in her voice.

"I missed you too mama!" The boy, Feliciano, said with his voice muffled by his mother's shoulder.

Ludwig's eyes fixed themselves on Feliciano, intrigued. Now that Ludwig could get a closer look at him, he could tell that Feliciano wasn't a boy. In fact he looked to be a little younger than Ludwig. Also his name sounded Italian, which was strange to Ludwig. Elizabeta gave Feliciano a quick squeeze before letting go of him, Feliciano following in suit. She then placed her hands on Feliciano's shoulders and led him to Ludwig.

"Feliciano, this is Mr. Beilschmidt." Elizabeta said to Feliciano.

Feliciano pursed his lips for a moment before hesitantly reaching out his hand.

Ludwig, by instinct, reached out and grabbed Feliciano's hand. Feliciano's eyes widened and Ludwig saw it. Feliciano's eyes were a golden-brown color, but that wasn't what made Ludwig's eyes widen. Feliciano had grey pupils, which meant that he was..._blind. _

"I-I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt." Ludwig said, his voice shaky.

Feliciano tilted his head up towards Ludwig's face and smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Ludwig Beilschmidt."

_End of chapter 1, Railings _

**A/N: I believe introductions are in order. My name is fabulousreaper, and you might know me from tumblr. I'm a 16 year old girl living in a small town in NYS, USA. The idea of Feliciano being blind came to me about a year ago, when I wondered how he was able to see when his eyes were always closed. This is the only fan fiction I am currently working on so I shall update chapters as soon as I can. I sort of modeled this after the famous story _Auf Wiedersehen, Sweetheart. _The overall plot is different but yes I intend to make you scream and cry with this story. I hope you choose to stay with me for the rest of the story, despite my goals. And to those who have already reviewed, thank you. **


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